2 teens saved in dramatic cliff rescue

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The boys, 16 and 17, were hoisted off the cliff in the Sierra Buttes in California

They had stranded themselves atop a windy, 8,600-foot-high cliff

Two California teens who stranded themselves atop a windy, 8,600-foot-high cliff ended up being rescued in what resembled a movie scene, according to authorities.

The boys, 16 and 17, were hoisted off the cliff in the Sierra Buttes in Northern California on Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol. The CHP sent a helicopter and a small plane to retrieve the teens, who had stranded themselves on a narrow shelf on the cliff while hiking.

It took several attempts to hoist the boys as winds blew in excess of 20 mph, according to a CHP news release. Rescuers gave them instructions via loud speaker and used a camera system to zoom in to watch the teens safely harness themselves. One teen was hoisted and flown to a designated landing zone on State Highway 49 before the rescue was repeated with the other boy.